San Miguel finishes strong to beat Barako Bull

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The San Miguel Beermen put on a strong fourth quarter finish to defeat the Barako Bull Energy, 102-91, to finally grab just their second victory in 8 games in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Tuesday, March 3 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I think it’s a big relief for us,” head coach Leo Austria said. “Plenty of our fans are really disappointed with our performance and I cannot blame them. Mentally and physically we are drained, and that’s the reason why – not just us but also Alaska – a lot of players from us suffered a lot of injuries.”

Arwind Santos was among those playing through injuries as he missed two out of 3 practices prior to this game due to a leg injury. Despite that, he tallied 22 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks to boost the slumping champions.

Arizona Reid scattered 34 points along with 16 rebounds and 7 assists, while Alex Cabagnot chipped in 17 markers, including 11 points to power an emphatic fourth quarter finish.

San Miguel blew a double-digit first half advantage once more as they allowed Barako to inch to within 74-70 after 3 quarters, but Cabagnot took over in the payoff period to spare the Beermen another heartbreaking loss.

Doug Kramer added 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Beermen, which lost league MVP June Mar Fajardo in the second half after he landed badly on his left ankle.

“We’re very happy we notched a win against a team with a very tall import,” Austria said. “Our game plan was followed. I hope this will continue in our next few games.”

The Philippine Cup champions, who have been struggling all conference long, prevented a 3-game slide and kept themselves on pace for a 5-6 finish to the eliminations, provided they win their remaining 3 games, for a better chance at entering the playoffs.

“We’re still hoping. I told them that win or lose we should fight back,” said Austria, who also shared that the players initiated a team dinner just to talk and figure things out among themselves.

It proved fruitful as San Miguel looked a little bit more like their normal selves in this game as they outclassed Barako Bull on the boards, 66-52, and were aggressively attacking the basket to 28-of-39 from the stripe.

JC Intal sizzled for 25 points on 4-of-11 triples to go with 6 rebounds. Solomon Alabi also had 25 points on top of 24 rebounds, 6 assists, two steals, and 4 blocks.

Dave Marcelo and Jake Pascual added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Barako Bull, which fell to an even 4-4 after starting the conference at 3-0.

Scores:

San Miguel (102) – Reid 34, Santos 22, Cabagnot 17, Kramer 14, Lassiter 5, Lutz 3, Tubid 3, Ross 2, Fajardo 2, Reyes 0, Fortuna 0, Semerad 0.

Barako (91) – Intal 25, Alabi 25, Marcelo 11, Pascual 10, Garcia 6, Mercado 4, Hubalde 4, Lanete 4, Paredes 2, Lastimosa 0.

– Rappler.com